Fear Not, Nats Fans: Bryce Harper Will Protect You from Zombies

WASHINGTON — If zombies ever encroach upon the fine people at Nationals Park, have no fear; Bryce Harper will take care of it.

Last week, Harper was spotted swinging around a barbed-wire baseball bat. It was a replica of “Lucille,” the delicately named weapon wielded by fictional character Negan — portrayed by Jeffery Dean Morgan — in AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

Carol Maloney of NBC Washington wanted to learn more about Harper’s connection to the bat — and the series — while down in West Palm Beach for spring training. As it turns out, there’s not much to either.

“The barbed wire bat,” Maloney said. “It’s got a lot of attention and I know you said ‘Walking Dead.’ Lucille? Is that right?”

“I guess. Yeah,” Harper said. “I mean, I don’t really watch it. So, they just sent it to me. I’ve watched it like three times. It’s heavy. So, it’s like a heavy bat. So, I actually have a heavy bat at home in Vegas that I used all offseason and it’s pretty similar to that. This one just has barbed wire around it, so I’ll take it.”

“Like Dusty’s standing next to you and you’re just swinging [it],” Maloney said. “It’s not off-putting, and I’m like, ‘He’s swinging around a zombie-killing bat out there and everybody thinks it’s normal.'”

“Hey. If any zombies come into Nats Park, I got ’em,” Harper said with a laugh.